Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Texas

I am in serious consideration of establishing a website very similar to digg.com.

Q1. I would enable users to submit links from interesting websites onto my website, for the entire community to enjoy.... What are the legal stipulations, if I use a picture from website A (onto mine), the user has posted the link onto my website thus endorsing the original website A link. For example a user submits an article from cnn.com and I or the user posts a picture from cnn.com onto my website to attract visual minded readers to that link.

Q2. If I were to use a picture from a search engine and post to my website, would I receive a request to remove e-mail or would I have a potential lawsuit? Don't many blogs just use pics from certain websites and just post the source under the photo, is that legal?

Thank you for your help,

(could I contact you, if i pursue this endeavor?)

Chris


Asked on 3/16/11, 8:03 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bruce Burdick Burdick Law Firm

Q1. Linking to websites using picturesThis is relatively safe, although technically copyright infringement. Attribution (not "endorsement" as that means you vouch for the quality and accuracy of the endorsed site) is seldom objected to by any experienced copyright owner. Likewise, most webmasters want links to their site to increase search rankings on Google, so it would be counterproductive to object. Keep the pictures you use just small thumbnails and you should encounter no objections. Objections to swiped photographs generally is limited to high quality commercial photographs, celebrity photographs, movies or movie clips or news exclusives. A simple thumbnail with a mouse over hyperlink is not going to get you in trouble.

Q2. Attribution does not cleanse copyright infringement. You can't upload "Avatar" the movie and just give credit to James Cameron. That will get you a CDL (cease and desist letter) or a suit. To a lesser degree this holds true for copyright-registered commercial photographs, since making copies is one of the main ways owner makes money. Yes, lots of blogs steal pictures and thereby commit copyright infringement, taking the remote risk that someone putting a picture on the Internet is foolish enough to think they will still be able to control it.

Bottom line, keep it to thumbnail photographs and you should not encounter any problems.

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Answered on 3/16/11, 8:23 am


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